Teacher calling every week AIBU?

[TheGoldenNugget]

Just got an email from the school saying from next week they will call me every week to speak to me and my DS. I have a DS in year 2 and DD in nursery, the nursery called me last week to ask how we're doing (didn't even know they were calling) we spoke for a bit, they didn't ask to speak to DD and that was it.

Now I don't mind getting a phone call once to chat, but every week? Really? AIBU? Goodness knows how long this will continue, and they want to call every week!

On another thread there will be someone moaning that they aren't getting calls 🤷‍♀️

Bet the teachers just lurve doing that!

Schools can’t win; no contact and they get criticised, now once a week is too much. Your kids might be the lucky ones but there are plenty of kids schools need to safeguard and they can’t make assumptions that you’re going to be coping ok

I think it's a nice gesture.

My daughter's high school have been doing this to make sure the kids are Ok and can access work.
I think it's really great considering I'm sure they have other things they'd rather be doing.
If you don't want to speak to them, don't answer the phone?

I would actually quite like a phone call mine are yr 2, yr 4, yr6 - quite hard to motivate

Because I foster, I have a couple of schools ringing me 1-3 times a week. I quite like it really - a chance to speak to another adult for a couple of minutes.

Our school have done this from the start, they speak to me and each of the children in turn. I have heard them ask each child how things are going and they mention things that the dc have sent in online to show they've received them. I think it is lovely, and supportive and I find it really helpful to be able to chat things through with someone who knows my dc well. I can also see how it would play a part in helping children who do not have such a nice time at home to feel supported and that they've not been forgotten.

What exactly is your problem with this? The lockdown is likely to put at risk children at greater risk. Trying to keep in touch with families and children via their teachers may help raise red flags where needed and alert the authorities to children who need help. In all other cases it’s an opportunity to ask any questions and keep in touch with the teacher.

Would they accept you emailing them regularly, do you think?

I'm told they have to check on pupils for safeguarding purposes, especially if they're not accessing the work they've been set.

My DD was delighted when her teacher phoned last week, it was a very quick chat to make sure she was OK and we appreciated it.

OP, can you just tell them you don't want the calls. It's a nice gesture for people who want it , but you don't , so you don't need to feel you should engage if you don't want to .

I think it's nice! One of my kids' teachers call this week and we appreciated it.

I assume it’s partly a welfare check but also a nice connection for your DS.

I think it's lovely

I have to risk assess all the families where the children are not in school and from that are required to contact some parents 1, 3 or 5 times a week. This is from our Local Authority.

I guess all schools are different. Ds is autistic with some mental health difficulties and on SEN support at a mainstream school. We have not had any phonecalls at all.

It seems a bit much to me, but my DC would love that. How do yours feel about it?

I got a call from Ds head this week. The call was only a minute or two long but enough for him to check in with us and see if we needed any more support. Can’t see why anyone would have an issue with that?

It’s wonderful! Our teachers each call once a week. Just because they are not in the physical classroom right now they are still their teachers. They communicate daily on google classroom too

We get a generic weekly email from the head and a list of schoolwork for the class.

Our head has been fantastic throughout this and her emails are a joy to read.

Our school started doing this 2 weeks ago. I think it’s a nice gesture. They don’t ask to speak to DC though.

They have said that if parents repeatedly don’t answer they’ll start doing doorstep visits which I thought was a bit much but I assume CP is a part of why they’re doing it.

Our school also sends a weekly email from the Head addressed to the DC with challenges separate from the Learning Programme which I also like.

Sounds fine to me. About right. I thought you were going to say once a day.

We've had weekly calls from the primary since the start of school closures. Welfare checks are important. They like to speak to the children themselves too and make sure they are ok. It isn't just the "obvious" children who may suffer from abuse. The other week when they called I was at minor injuries with a child having a potential broken limb checked out and they quite rightly asked me to call after to update them.

YABU to complain. Some parents may be struggling but not want to phone up for help. Others may have small issues (like me last week), others may just want to chat and there are those with safeguarding issues or kids at risk. If you don’t need it just say “it’s all ok thanks”. It really takes maximum 2 minutes of your time.